Yes, I know… anyone with a smartphone and a camera is calling themselves a photographer, and the image they snap is called a photo, or if you took a photography class then it’s called a photograph.

But I disagree, it is an image and not a photograph. Images will disappear over time and your memories with that single moment captured in time.

My new phone has 256 GB (the same as RAM memory on my MacBook air); can you imagine how many images I can take with my phone of my son? A lot!

So, by the time he meets the love of his life, and get married, what photos will I show out of millions I have taken of him? When his children turn five, what memories of his childhood will he be able to share?

Imagine that my phone last 30 years (the truth is that it lasts 4, but my memory card is full in two months), do you think my son will be able to skim through thousands of photos to find that image he is looking for? No! Simply, no.

Think to be tech-savvy and that you know how to move from an operating system to another over the years. Do you think in thirty years those photos will still be organized and accessible? It will still not be that easy.

Your phone is for taking images to share NOW, to share with your friends on Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram, and it’s a piece of ephemeral media – not permanent nor transcendental.

This generation is going to miss out on the everlasting memories as they rely on handheld devices to capture life’s moments in an instant.

We all enjoy sharing our life with family and friends around the world, so please continue to use your phone and social media because you never know what could happen in a few seconds, but when you have the opportunity, get an actual, physical camera with a decent resolution. You need to think about your children, and the coming years too!

Below is a list of things you can do to preserve those memories over time.

1. Edit the photos instead of retouching them. Make a selection of photos from the month and of the year – keep the best of every memory.

2. Invest in a reliable backup system. We can talk in detail about that in another post.

3. Print. This is the most important. Even when consumer labs are not professional, it is so much better than have nothing. Make an album or photo box or something creative to showcase those special moments in your loved ones’ lives. When your son is ready to start his own family, you can give something to him.

4. Get a polaroid style camera, they are very affordable nowadays. I love ourmini-instant.They are pretty cute, and again... It’s better to have something in your hands than a million things in a hard-drive that will not work in 10 years.

When you are ready to make the investment, hire a lifestyle professional. It will allow you to be in the photos and the professional will be able to get the best shots and make everyone feel like a superstar!

What are some other benefits of hiring a professional lifestyle photographer?

1. Your photos will last for generations to come. Lifestyle photographers are experts in capturing life and photographing the essence of who you and your family are.

3. The photographer will execute the entire process from beginning to end, and your photos will not disappear in the back of your desk drawer because you are going to have an actual physical and archival piece on your hand.

4. Professionally documenting your family is a financial investment, so you will take better care of it.

5. You will make memories with your lifestyle photographer. These images you will save forever in your heart and in all the mediums possible.

6. You will have a tangible product that you can hold, and you will install or save it in the best place of your house, a forever reminder.

7. A professional photographer is the expert and knows about the best and professional photographic papers, about print, calibration, ink, and how an album can survive for a lifetime.

8. Just think that your great-grandchild will be able to hold and look at a beautiful, clear photo of your life.